While chimneys have been around for a long time, they are surrounded by many myths that can confuse you if you aren’t keen. Here are some of the most common myths as given by chimney cleaning services providers:

You can easily clean the chimney by yourself

It’s true you can clean the chimney by yourself if the chimney is small, but if it’s large, you will have a hard time keeping it clean. Proper chimney cleaning requires you to have the necessary training, experience, and tools. This means that if you don’t have any of these, there is no way you are going to properly clean the unit.

Chimney cleaning also comes with its risks. For example, you can easily choke from the creosote and lose your life. Instead of trying to clean the unit by yourself, you should hire a chimney contractor to help you with the cleaning.

Since the contractor has the necessary training, experience, and tools, he/she will clean the chimney fast and give it the looks it deserves.

You don’t need to clean or inspect a rarely used chimney

It’s true that rarely used chimneys aren’t as active as their counterparts that are used daily, but this doesn’t mean that you should ignore it. You should note that even if you aren’t using the chimney, birds, and animals can build nests on the chimney blocking the unit.

What is the result of this? When the chimney is blocked, carbon monoxide and other gases don’t leave the house which puts you and your family at risk.

Do you have a chimney that you barely use? Ask a chimney expert to inspect it and get rid of any birds or animals that might be there.

Chimneys with metal liners don’t need to be maintained

Chimney liners come in handy at increasing the efficiency of the chimney, dealing with the common chimney problems, and extending the life of the chimney. While this is the case, it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t inspect or maintain the unit.

Just like any part of your chimney, the chimney liner is susceptible to creosote buildup and other issues that can lead to chimney fires.

For you to ensure that your unit is in top shape all the time, you should hire a chimney professional at least once a year to inspect it for defects it might be having. Also, remember to clean the unit if a lot of creosote has built up in it.

You don’t need to clean the chimney when you are using hardwood

You must have heard that you should burn hardwood for you to reduce the creosote levels in your chimney. It’s true that hardwood tends to burn at higher temperatures; therefore, little creosote is deposited on the walls of the chimney.

If you don’t remove the creosote for a long time, the levels will gradually pile up putting your house at the risk of fire. Regardless of the firewood that you are burning in your chimney, you should always clean it. As mentioned, hire a chimney cleaning professional to help you with the work—avoid trying to clean it by yourself as you won’t do a good job.

For you to reduce the creosote that might have built up in your unit, you should avoid burning softwood. The softwood tends to burn at lower temperatures that lead to the accumulation of creosote in the chimney. The best way of going about it is using hardwood that has been air dried for at least six months.

You don’t need to clean the chimney after buying a new house

If you have bought a house that is completely new you don’t have to worry about cleaning the chimney, but if there were people living in the house before you bought it, you should get worried about its cleaning.

You should only ignore cleaning the chimney if you have proof that it was recently cleaned. If you aren’t sure when the chimney was last cleaned or inspected, hire a chimney sweep Bowie or any other professional to inspect it and clean it if necessary.

Remember, the previous house owners might have gone for a long time without cleaning the chimney putting you and your family at the risk of fire.